Volunteers are working to produce about 10 books in electronic format on CDs this month, and next month as well. Four titles are already in the hands of the project's CD team. These are The Stalin School of Falsification, In Defense of Socialism, The Founding of the Socialist Workers Party, and The Chinese Revolution and Its Development.

Other titles slated for September completion are FBI On Trial, Malcolm X Speaks, Mother Jones Speaks, Farmers Face the Crisis of the 1990s, Communist Continuity and the Fight for Women's Liberation, Workers Rights vs. the Secret Police, and Israel: A Colonial-Settler State? and several books by Leon Trotsky: The Spanish Revolution (1931-39), Military Writings, and Writings of Leon Trotsky (1938-39).

Project organizers say that 14 titles are in the pipeline for September, but it's always possible for mistakes or accidents to delay delivery, which is why they say only 10 may be completed.

The indexing team's completion of the index concordance for Sandinistas Speak in only two weeks exemplifies the volunteers' growing skills. The project leadership has also recently agreed to a proposal from the editors of Pathfinder to take over production of the advertisements that appear in every book and pamphlet. The CD team is now organizing the digital files of the ads in English, French, and Spanish, and the proofreading team will start work on them shortly.

In addition to the new books and reprints, volunteers are also producing dozens of CDs for the reprints of reprints, or "R2s." These are CDs of books that were made digital before present standards and procedures were set, and that now need corrections before going to another printing. Training of volunteers on the CD team is a top priority, as this is one of the most highly skilled aspects of the work. The team, currently comprised of five or six volunteers, completes the final step for every book that goes to press. Organizing this team has been one of the project's most important accomplishments.

These victories come on the heels of the project's July production of four new pamphlets in French in time for distribution at the 15th World Festival of Youth and Students, held August 8-16 in Algeria. Much of the regular work by reprint volunteers was maintained during the summer alongside the production of the new titles. The monthly goal of completing seven books was reached in both July and August.

Since the start of the project, 197 books and pamphlets have been digitized, or almost 55 percent of all Pathfinder titles. The goal of reaching 75 percent by July 1, 2002, means completing 76 more books in the next 10 months, or 7.6 per month. The project's leadership is confident the international team of volunteers can make and even exceed this goal.

Ruth Cheney is the organizer of the steering committee of the Pathfinder Reprint Project.  
 
 
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